Colorado's computerized system for taking claims from the unemployed has crashed repeatedly in recent days, leaving thousands stuck in telephone hold queues and worried they will not receive their benefits.

Problems with CUBline Online, where people either register an initial unemployment claim or update existing claims in order to continue collecting unemployment, came to the department's attention Sunday evening. But the sporadic computer performance might have started earlier than that, said Department of Labor spokesman Bill Thoennes.

"People are still able to get through; it is just very slow. Some people say they have to give up," Thoennes said.

Normally, 36,000 people successfully use the online system on a Sunday. About half that number were able to update their claims online Sunday.

The glitch has resulted in jammed phone lines at the department as people call to speak to a representative and find out what the problem is, he said.

A toll-free number that people from outside the metro area call to reach an automated claims system has apparently also experienced problems because people who normally file online are using the phone system, said department spokeswoman Cher Haavind.

Lynn Burton, a former Aspen Daily News night editor who lives in Carbondale, planned to update his claim about 8 a.m. Monday with a call to the automated phone system.

"In 10 minutes, I got a busy signal 25 or 30 times. I gave up and came back around 11 a.m.

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and did the same thing for about 10 minutes and I got another 25 or 30 busy signals," Burton said. "I went to their website and found a message saying the Internet system is down and the CUBline is getting a high volume of calls."

Burton said he is concerned that the glitch could result in having to refile his initial claim and force a month-long wait for a check.

That is unlikely, Thoennes said. Those who are unable to update their claims could see a one- or two-day delay in receiving benefits.

There should be no delay for those filing initial claims, he added. Claimants will not be penalized any benefits because of the outage and will have two weeks to file for the previous reporting period.

Technicians began working on the system Sunday and were expected to continue through Monday night.

The automated phone line in the 303 area code has been working properly, Haavind said, and people are encouraged to use it to avoid delays in receiving their payment. The phone number is 303-813-2800.

About 160,000 people in the state are collecting unemployment benefits, and each must update his or her claim every other week.

The department relies on computer systems that are more than 30 years old. A new system that will handle online claims is expected to be operational in about four months, Haavind said.

The department has been under stress as the economy has crumbled and claims have soared.

As the number of unemployed climbed last year, hundreds of people complained that they couldn't get through to the office after trying dozens, even hundreds, of times.

The department added workers, extended the time allowed to file a continued claim from seven to 14 days and revamped its website to allow employers and the unemployed access to information without having to call and speak with someone.

The changes have relieved wait times in most cases, Haavind said. The number of new claims has also dropped to about 5,000 per week from a high of about 7,000.

But the number of continuing claims remains high. Whether the volume of people using the online system led to the current meltdown won't be known until technicians complete their diagnosis.

In 2005, the department scrapped an unemployment-benefits computer system called Genesis that had been planned to replace the existing system. Key parts of the program, for which the state paid $24.2 million, didn't work.

Need help?

Anyone who can't get through using the automated phone line in the 303 area code — 303- 813-2800 — can e-mail Labor Department spokesman Bill Thoennes at bill.thoennes@state.co.us. "I will forward the information to our call-back team so they can get a call from us rather than continuing to struggle to get through on the phone lines."

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